sp Breitbinden first spawn

[chris1932]

I had hoped when these fish came in that they would be the regular Breitbinden and not the sp. After seeing them grow to where they have some size and natural color Im pretty happy with them. Seeing the male display with that really tall third dorsal spine and long caudial fin is something. The female has a brood dress feature that up to now I had not seen, the entire anal fin border is trimmed with a fine black border. Overall the fish are quite nice and have not presented me with any requirements that are above and beyond what I expected. Luckily for anyone that is looking I have a few more pairs and I will be bringing them to Aquafest in two weeks.

 

[peterK]

First, congrats
Second, your Breitbinden look quite unusual. I have never seen in the net such coloured fish, both male and female. When I saw pic of male, he seemed at first glance like A. barlowi to me. I'm very curious, what would specialists say about that.

 

[Mike Wise]

Well, in my opinion, the fish look like A. sp. Breitbinden. The female definitely is not A. barlowi (it has no black patch on the flanks behind the ventral fins). The net-like scale outline of the body is typical of species of the brevis-group (to which A. sp. Breitbinden belongs). The front spines on the dorsal fin and the double tips on the caudal fin are too long for the typical A. barlowi male. The pattern on the caudal fin - stripes top; rows of spots bottom - is the same as on A. sp. Breitbinden. A. barlowi has rows of spots on the top and stripes on the bottom.

 

[chris1932]

I think the thing that sways some people is that they have not seen the fish before. The split caudial color is an interisting feature on this fish that is also seen on Barlowi. The fish is sp. Breitbinden. Mike thanks for the positive ID

 

[chris1932]

Mike
Do you know where these fish are caught?

 

[Mike Wise]

I can't be absolutely sure except that they are probably from the upper Rio Orinoco drainage. Forms from the upper Rio Negro have a different color pattern on the body.